A preliminary NTSB report says a plane that crashed near Wimberley had icing and instrument problems before breaking apart midair. The pilot of a small plane that crashed near Wimberley last month was having issues with the plane’s instruments and dealing with icing before the aircraft broke apart midair, plummeted to the ground and caught fire, killing all five aboard, according to a federal investigative report released Friday.
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary findings on the April 30 crash of a Cessna 421C, which was carrying pickleball players from Amarillo to New Braunfels. According to the report, the pilot told air traffic controllers the plane's pitot tube — a device that measures critical flight parameters like airspeed — was icing up and the tube’s heating element was not working. The pilot reported using backup gauges.
Shortly after controllers cleared the pilot to a lower altitude to help the tube warm up, data shows the plane turned nearly 180 degrees to the right, maneuvered south, then made a descending right turn. A nearby resident who called first responders told investigators they heard the airplane hit the ground and saw the wreckage on fire, according to the report.
Pieces of the airplane were spread over an area of about 1 ¼ miles, which is “consistent with an inflight breakup,” investigators wrote.
At the time of the crash, just after 11 p.m., temperatures at altitude were just below freezing — between 21 and 28 degrees Fahrenheit — elevating the risk of ice accumulation.
The preliminary NTSB report does not name a probable cause for the crash. That is expected in a final report within two years.
The Texas Department of Public Safety previously identified the victims of the crash as pilot Justin Appling and passengers Hayden Dillard, Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala and Stacy Hedrick. They were members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club and had been traveling to a tournament in Central Texas.